PENTAGON: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey took the stage together at the Pentagon this afternoon, 12 months after Panetta took office, to urge Congressional action against sequestration and to defend the administration's strategy in Afghanistan.

The normally calm Panetta became audibly emotional as he discussed the sacrifices of the wounded troops he's visited.Read more ....

(Reuters) - Al Qaeda-linked Mali Islamists armed with Kalashnikovs and pick-axes began destroying prized mausoleums of saints in the UNESCO-listed northern city of Timbuktu on Saturday in front of shocked locals, witnesses said.

The Islamist Ansar Dine group backs strict sharia, Islamic law, and considers the shrines of the local Sufi version of Islam idolatrous. Sufi shrines have also been attacked by hardline Salafists in Egypt and Libya in the past year.

The attack came just days after UNESCO placed Timbuktu on its list of heritage sites in danger and will recall the 2001 dynamiting by the Taliban of two 6th-century statues of Buddha carved into a cliff in Bamiyan in central Afghanistan.

A day after the Supreme Court struck down a law that made it a crime to lie about military service, veterans groups and lawmakers are gearing up for another battle.

The nation's top court voted 6-3 on Thursday that the Stolen Valor Act of 2006 infringes upon speech protected by the First Amendment. The law, which was enacted amid the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, targeted those who made bogus claims about receiving the Medal of Honor or other military decorations. The retooled Stolen Valor Act of 2011 wouldn't stop barroom boasting about bogus service, but would take aim at people who benefit financially or otherwise from their phony claims.

My Comment: I am sure the law will be rewritten .... something along the lines of what happens if you impersonate a police officer. But I still believe that an open data base will probably be the best route.

An Afghan soldier runs past a U.S. Army paratrooper armed with an M249 squad automatic weapon during a firefight with insurgent forces near Joint Security Station Hasan near the village of Spedar in southern Afghanistan's Ghazni province, June 15, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

Study: 25% Of War Deaths Medically Preventable -- Army Times

A new study finds that nearly a quarter of the 4,596 combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011 were “potentially survivable,” meaning that under ideal conditions — and with the right equipment or latest medical techniques — the troops may have had a fighting chance.

But the study also notes that 90 percent of the deaths occurred before the injured reached a medical facility: of the 4,090 troops who suffered mortal wounds on the battlefield, 1,391 died instantly and 2,699 succumbed before arriving at a treatment center.

After an initial couldn't-have-been-us denial, it turns out it was the military's fault after all.

A Navy spokesman confirmed late Friday that two Navy F/A-18 fighter jets went "supersonic," rattling doors and windows ---- and nerves ---- like an earthquake along San Diego County's coastline about 12:45 p.m. Friday.

The jets were showing off for about 2,000 family members and invited guests of sailors aboard the Carl Vinson during a daylong family cruise, said Lt. Aaron Kakiel, a spokesman for Naval Air Forces Pacific, at North Island Air Station.Read more ....

My Comment: The original story is here. It must have been impressive to experience such a sonic quake .... especially for the spectators who were close.

Friday, June 29, 2012

US Rules Out Military Intervention In Islamist-Dominated Breakaway Region Of Mali -- The Hill

The State Department's top official for Africa on Friday shot down proposals to reunify the West African country of Mali by force following a rebellion by nomadic Tuaregs and Islamist militants.

The comments by Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson come as several multinational organizations — notably the United Nations, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) — are discussing the viability of a peacekeeping mission in Mali. A military coup overthrew the country's government in March, and rebel groups in the north grabbed the opportunity to seize control of the northern part of the country and declare an Islamic breakaway state last month.Read more ....Update:Mali Islamists threaten nations that join intervention force -- AFP

My Comment: The people in this region must eventually sort out their differences and conflicts. Throwing in a few hundred U.S. forces .... if not more .... will not resolve their underlying problems.

Navy Capt. Brandon Cordill flies an F/A-18 Hornet over Baltimore, June 15, 2012, during the Star Spangled Sailabration, which coincides with Baltimore Fleet Week 2012. The event commemorates the War of 1812 and the writing of "The Star Spangled Banner.” Cordill, left wingman, is assigned to the the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy's flight demonstration squadron. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Andrew Johnson

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta hopes to save an international missile defense program that the U.S. Army has already decided it will not field.

The Pentagon boss wrote a letter sent June 26 to U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, pleading for his support to insert $400.9 million back into the budget to fund the Medium Extended Air Defense System in 2013. Congress has already denied Panetta’s budget request to fund the mobile missile defense system originally designed to replace the Patriot.

Loan: Mr Reagan would have handed Britain the use of the amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima (pictured) should harm have come to either HMS Invincible or HMS Hermes, which the Royal Navy had deployed to the Falklands

Not So Neutral After All: Ronald Reagan Made Secret Plans To Loan U.S. Warship To Britain If Aircraft Carrier Was Lost During Falklands War -- Daily Mail

* Revelation made by former U.S. Secretary of the Navy John Lehman * Reagan would have loaned Britain use of amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima should harm have come to either HMS Invincible or HMS Hermes * U.S. was officially neutral during the two-month conflict

Ronald Reagan made secret plans to loan Britain a U.S. warship if she lost an aircraft carrier during the Falklands War, it has emerged.

The then-president was prepared to support Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher despite the U.S. being officially neutral during the 1982 conflict.Read more ....

My Comment: If it was President Obama in the Oval Office and NOT President Reagan .... would the same thing have happened? More to the point .... would the U.S. help Britain today if the Argentinians were successful in invading and occupying the Falklands?

I was young at the time (22 years old) but I had no doubt on what US policy was in regards to the Argentinian invasion of the Falklands .... and to the extent of what President Reagan would do to help his ally in London. But President Reagan is gone, and today we have a situation where I am not even sure on what US policy would be .... or even if they take a position.

The frontrunner in Mexico’s presidential election has promised to bring down the death toll in his country’s bloody drug war, prompting American fears he may step back from directly confronting the cartels.

Mexico’s 80 million voters will go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president for the first time since the military was deployed against the drug barons six years ago, beginning a bloody conflict that has already cost 50,000 lives.

Enrique Peña Nieto, a telegenic former governor who enjoys a commanding 14-point lead, has vowed to shift the focus away from disrupting the cartels’ smuggling operations and look instead to curb the violence that all too often ends in beheadings or with bodies hung publicly from bridges.Read more ....

My Comment: Here are my Mexico predictions. Enrique Peña Nieto will win with an overwhelming majority .... and will start to disappoint Mexicans right away. The drug cartel war will continue .... but at a slightly lower level not because of government policies but because so many drugs lords have killed each other off. The economy will stagnate because their number one economic partner (i.e. the U.S.) has an economy that (as we all know) will continue to stagnate .... and a slow trickle of Mexicans will start to self-deport from the U.S. and go back to Mexico. Corruption will continue .... and maybe even get worse. U.S. - Mexican relations will remain the same.

Border Patrol agents in Arizona are blasting their bosses for telling them, along with all other Department of Homeland Security employees, to run and hide if they encounter an "active shooter."

It's one thing to tell civilian employees to cower under a desk if a gunman starts spraying fire in a confined area, say members of Tucson Local 2544/National Border Patrol Council, but to give armed law enforcement professionals the same advice is downright insulting. The instructions from DHS come in the form of pamphlets and a mandatory computer tutorial.

My Comment: To me .... these instructions are bizarre .... but here is the kicker .... to many others (including some in Homeland Security) .... these instructions are very reasonable and they make total sense.

Just days after the breakdown of talks with the West over Iran’s nuclear program, the deputy chief commander of the Revolutionary Guards announced that there soon will be war – and that Allah will ensure his forces are victorious.

The last round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany) ended in Moscow last week without any agreement on Iran’s illicit nuclear program.

Gen. Hossein Salami, in a televised interview, boasted that, “Iran has complete control of all the enemy’s interests around the world and is on a path to reach equivalency with world powers.” The commander emphasized that Iran’s nuclear program is irreversible, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

The pressure is growing and the threats are escalating against Iran. The U.S. Congress is increasingly expressing impatience. Both major U.S. presidential candidates keep making it clear they see war as an option to end Iran's nuclear program. Yet direct talks between Iranian and European negotiators have broken down. And Iran's uranium-enrichment program continues.

My Comment: Even I am skeptical that the US will launch a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities .... that after spending years criticizing President Bush for invading Iraq we end up with a situation in which President Obama would start a war of choice with Iran .... hmmmm .... no .... it's not going to happen .... and the Iranians know that.

The fall of Bo Xilai, once a rising star in Chinese politics, has plunged the country into its biggest crisis since Tiananmen Square. In this documentary, The Wall Street Journal examines how his downfall has altered the debate about China’s future.

China's Z-10 gunship, its first modern attack helicopter. U.S. defense giant United Technologies and two subsidiaries admitted selling restricted military software used to build the helicopter, covering up the sales and lying to the U.S. government. Via Defense Tech

United Technologies Acknowledges Coverup Of Sale Of Military Software To China -- Washington Post

United Technologies, a major defense contractor, and two of its subsidiaries on Thursday acknowledged covering up the illicit sale of sensitive military software to China — technology that the country later used to develop its first attack helicopter.

Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges against the firms and a fine of more than $75 million for what they called a violation of U.S. export laws. Justice officials said the software sold to China posed a risk to American troops overseas and U.S. allies.Read more ....

More News On United Technologies Acknowledging A Coverup In the Sale Of Military Software To China

Among the unfortunate things about the ObamaCare ruling is that it’s taking oxygen away from some important stories. None more important than Eli Lake’s sensational scoop at the Daily Beast on the wretched facilities in Somalia where America is sending alleged terrorists caught in the expanded U.S. war on terror in that country. When Barack Obama came to office he described Guantanamo Bay as a “misguided experiment,” owing to the facility’s supposedly harsh conditions. He has since decreed that the United States will no longer accept new prisoners there (he was unable to close the facility altogether); Obama also shuttered CIA black site prisons in Europe. But if Gitmo was a “misguided experiment” and CIA sites beneath American standards of humane treatment, what on earth is this?Read more ....My Comment: No tears shed from this blogger.

Threatens to veto bill unless it hikes health care fees for service members

The Obama administration on Friday threatened to veto a defense appropriations bill in part because it does not include higher health care fees for members of the military.

“The Administration is disappointed that the Congress did not incorporate the requested TRICARE fee initiatives into either the appropriation or authorization legislation,” the White House wrote in an official policy statement expressing opposition to the bill, which the House approved in May.Read more ....

My Comment: This is not the only reason why the White House has threatened to veto this defense appropriations bill. But .... the White House's intention to increase health care charges on military personnel is the provision that I find personally unpalatable. With the Supreme Court deciding yesterday that "Obamacare" is constitutional, I now do expect a full-court press on the part of this administration to limit the choices that US military personnel (and everyone else for that matter) have in selecting health care, and to eventually divert them to the government health care program that they want implemented.

Iran is storing oil in tankers at sea, but may soon have to decommission wells if the EU trade emargo is not lifted. Photograph: Tim Chong/Reuters

Iran Sanctions Are About To Get Tougher -- Ramin Mostaghim and Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times

Western governments are preparing to increase the economic pressure on Tehran, and already-scrimping Iranians will no doubt feel the impact.

TEHRAN — As the West has tightened its economic chokehold in an effort to force Iran's government to scale back its growing nuclear program, Iranians have coped by cutting back.

Ali, a 31-year-old employee at a Tehran print shop, doesn't buy as much chicken or red meat as before and has stopped going to the barber. He gave up smoking Marlboros for cheaper Iranian-made Bahmans, and asked his wife to quit her health club.

Syrian Groups Say Bloody Day Left High Toll of Civilians -- New York Times

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Syria’s opposition on Friday reported the deadliest 24-hour period so far in the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and said rebel fighters had seized two Syrian generals, one of them the highest-ranking officer to fall into insurgent hands.

Accounts of the intensified mayhem in Syria came as Kofi Annan, the special envoy for the United Nations and the Arab League, prepared to hold a high-level meeting in Geneva that includes the five permanent members of the Security Council to rescue his sidelined Syrian peace plan from total irrelevance.

CAIRO — President-elect Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood pre-empted the military’s choreographed swearing-in ceremony by taking his oath of office a day early in a televised speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters in Tahrir Square on Friday. But his rousing tribute to Egyptian sovereignty may be overshadowed by a promise likely to complicate relations with the United States: to work for the release of the Egyptian-born Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, jailed for plotting to bomb a series of New York City landmarks.

The comments appeared to come almost offhandedly in the context of a vow to free Egyptian civilians imprisoned here after military trials during the transition after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak.

My Comment: We should not be surprised by these remarks .... there were rumors a few months ago that the US administration was itself prepared to release the "Blind Sheik" in return for the release of some US human rights observers.

In the midst of a fiery floor debate over contempt proceedings for Attorney General Eric Holder, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) quietly dropped a bombshell letter into the Congressional Record.

The May 24 letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), ranking member on the panel, quotes from and describes in detail a secret wiretap application that has become a point of debate in the GOP’s “Fast and Furious” gun-walking probe.Read more ....

My Comment: Supporters of Attorney General Eric Holder must know that this drip-drip of information from House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa indicates that he has confidential contacts and (yes .... moles) within the Justice department .... otherwise this information would have never made the light of day. For the moment .... because of executive privilege .... this case is now in the memory hole. My hope is that one day a Special Prosecutor is appointed, and that the information which is now "protected" be released to satisfy those like myself who want to know the truth, as well as providing some peace to families like the family of slain Border Patrol agent Brian Terry who .... as unbelievable as this may sound .... are still waiting for answers.

In what's probably the worst sex assault scandal in the U.S. military in the last 20 years, Air force officials have determined that 31 women have been identified as victims of sexual misconduct and assault at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, where 12 male boot-camp instructors are under investigation for allegedly raping, assaulting, harassing, and having sex with female recruits. "Gen. Edward Rice, commander of the Air Education and Training Command, told Pentagon reporters that a dozen male instructors were under investigation, and that nine of them were from the same unit — the 331st Training Squadron," according to The Associated Press. The San Antonio Express News' Tracy Idell Hamilton notes that Rice said all 31 women were still part of the Air Force.

The House’s Republican-controlled defense committees are 0 for 2 so far this year in yielding legislation that President Obama could sign. That may not come as a shock.

Still, there it is: Having already threatened to veto the House Armed Services’ Committee’s defense authorization bill in May, the White House has now threatened to veto the House Appropriations Committee’s defense bill, which sets aside funding for the Defense Department.Read more ....

Young Children, Entire Families Among Almost 200 ‘Massacred’ In Besieged Syrian City Of Douma -- National Post/Reuters

BEIRUT — Syrians in the besieged city of Douma wrapped mangled and bloodied corpses in white burial shrouds early on Friday, according to video posted online, after 190 people were killed in one of the deadliest days of Syria’s 16-month-old uprising.

Activists said more than 50 of those killed on Thursday died in Douma, about 15 km (9 miles) outside the capital Damascus.Read more ....

Delegates from more than 150 countries are to meet next month (July 2-27) at the United Nations in New York to draft a global arms trade treaty.

The proposed legally-binding treaty would set international standards to regulate the import, export and transfer of conventional weapons - from aircraft carriers to machine guns and small arms. Major arms exporters, such as the United States, and major importers, such as India, will participate.

(CNN) -- Riot police sprayed tear gas at hundreds of protesters who attempted to lead a march after Friday prayers from the two main opposition party mosques in Sudan's capital Khartoum and its second city, Omdurman.

A CNN journalist at the Al Sayid Abdelrahman mosque said that after prayers about 500 riot police gathered outside the gates and fired tear gas canisters at the crowd as they began to leave.

Moshe Ya'alon tells Ari Shavit he is preparing for war. He suggests you do the same.

Exactly seven years ago, I interviewed the chief of staff. On the eve of his retirement from the Israel Defense Forces, Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon spoke with an expressionless face against the Gaza disengagement, against a Palestinian state and against giving terrorism a “tailwind.” He predicted that Hamas would seize control of the Gaza Strip and that rockets would rain down on Israeli cities. But when, at the end of the interview, we were joined by the Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman and a Haaretz photographer, the chief of staff became a different person. As the photographer had him pose in his office, he started telling jokes.

A U.S. paratrooper fires his M249 squad automatic weapon at insurgents during a firefight on the outskirts of the village of Spedar in southern Afghanistan's Ghazni province, June 15, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod

Afghan Officials Hail Talks With Insurgents -- New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — A flurry of informal contacts between the Afghan government and insurgent representatives over the past week suggests that long-stalled peace negotiation efforts may be inching forward, Afghan officials say, though American officials played down the significance of the meetings.

Afghan government negotiators sat with representatives of the insurgents first at an informal meeting in Paris this week and then at an academic conference in Kyoto, Japan, through the past two days, officials said. President Hamid Karzai’s top peace negotiator, Salahuddin Rabbani, hailed the public contacts this month as an indication that the Taliban were backing off their demand that Americans be the main interlocutors in any talks.Read more ....

About Me

I have been involved in numerous computer science projects since the 1980s, as well as developing numerous web projects since 1996.
These blogs are a summation of all the information that I read and catalog pertaining to the subjects that interest me.